"The Esri Education Outreach team is pleased to announce the release of a sample pack from the forthcoming GeoInquiries™ collection for World History classrooms. The sample pack includes the first four activities supporting high school World History instruction with ArcGIS Online. Eleven additional activities will be released over the coming weeks."

"To design a map of the world is no easy task. Because maps represent the spherical Earth in 2D form, they cannot help but be distorted, which is why Greenland and Antarctica usually look far more gigantic than they really are, while Africa appears vastly smaller than its true size. The AuthaGraph World Map tries to correct these issues, showing the world closer to how it actually is in all its spherical glory."

Seth Dixon's insight:

This just shows how subjective the concept of "accurate" can be. First off, this is a fabulous map that nicely minimizes distortions (distance, direction, area, and shape) of the land on our planet. Any criticism of the map just shows the impossibility of making an accurate 2D map of a 3D Earth, but I still think that there is plenty of room to discuss the flaws/distortions that were chosen instead of others. It is interesting to note that a Japanese contest awarded this map with it's top honor (I doubt a Brazilian organization would feel the same way about this map). This map does make with some traditional cartographic conventions in its representation of Earth.

Questions to Ponder: What are some elements of this map that are different from more traditional maps? This map claims to be more accurate; does that make it more useful?

"How to create a detailed 3D topographic model of the entire Earth? As you could suspect the only feasible way to do it is using satellites. But a regular satellite scan will not be detailed enough to give you a meter-level accuracy. Instead of using a single satellite they’ve launched to an orbit two satellites orbiting next to each other capturing stereoscopic scans of the surface of the Earth (that scan the same areas from slightly different angles). Now this data has been processed into a seamless 3-dimensional world map of unprecedented accuracy of 1 meter. The data and the press release are publicly available."

Without sophisticated sensor packages, drones would just be expensive RC airplanes. In this video, Avweb looks at some of the things they can carry.

Seth Dixon's insight:

This video gets deep into the specs of sensor packages and the commercial side of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), but it shows how emerging technologies are using and creating geographic data. This is also a reminder that geography can be incredibly useful in a diverse range of economic sectors and has far-reaching applications in the real world--geography can be incredibly cutting edge.

When in the Mexican state of Veracruz as a grad student, I saw a startling mountain covered by the dense tropical rain forest; this mountain had a consistent slope with hard angles. I was awestruck to realize that it was an uncovered (but not undiscovered) pyramid and I wondered just how many archeological sites are waiting to be unearthed.

Why is a geographer an important member of an interdisciplinary team? This discovery shows that spatial thinking, geographic tools, and a keen eye for usually patterns in unexpected places are critical for many disciplines and fields of research.

"GeoInquiries are designed to be fast and easy-to-use instructional resources that incorporate advanced web mapping technology. Each 15-minute activity in a collection is intended to be presented by the instructor from a single computer/projector classroom arrangement. No installation, fees, or logins are necessary to use these materials and software.

"Esri Canada pays tribute to Dr. Roger Tomlinson, known as the 'Father of GIS'. Dr. Tomlinson passed away on Feb. 7, 2014, leaving a remarkable legacy that laid the foundation for modern digital mapping and transformed the field of geography."

"GeoInquiries are designed to be fast and easy-to-use instructional resources that incorporate advanced web mapping technology. Each 15-minute activity in a collection is intended to be presented by the instructor from a single computer/projector classroom arrangement. No installation, fees, or logins are necessary to use these materials and software."

Seth Dixon's insight:

ESRI has produced GeoInquires for Earth Science, History and now a complete set of AP Human Geography GeoInquiries. I was grateful to be a part of the team that created these exercises; we believe that APHG should not just teach students about GIS, but be used to teach geography. These GeoInquiries are an easy on-ramp since the were designed for students and teachers without a GIS background.

"GIS is waking up the world to the power of geography, this science of integration, and…creating a better future," proclaimed Esri founder Jack Dangermond at the 2015 Esri User Conference.

Seth Dixon's insight:

If you haven't discovered the power of geography or the power of GIS, this article from ArcNews is for you. If you need to convince others of the power of geography, this is for you to strengthen your case.

"Wed, Mar 15, 2017 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM EDT, the NCGE will be offering a free webinar for educators on the OpenStreetMap project and how you can incorporate it into your class."

Seth Dixon's insight:

My students and I join OpenStreetMap (OSM) projects, especially when there is a major humanitarian need...it's a great way to make service learning and geospatial technologies come together. If you are interested learning more about OSM projects for the classroom, sign up for this NCGE webinar seminar as soon as possible, since this event is right around the corner (the webinar program is one of the many great reasons to become a member of NCGE).

My students and I join OpenStreetMap (OSM) projects, especially when there is a major humanitarian need...it's a great way to make service learning and geospatial technologies come together. If you are interested learning more about OSM projects for the classroom, sign up for this NCGE webinar seminar as soon as possible, since this event is right around the corner (the webinar program is one of the many great reasons to become a member of NCGE).

"The images come from the amazing book called “Overview: A New Perspective of Earth”. that just hit the stores around the world. The book is a stunning and unique collection of satellite images of Earth that offer an unexpected look at humanity, derived from the wildly popular Daily Overview Instagram account followed by almost 0.5 million people."

Hagadera, seen here on the right, is the largest section of the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Northern Kenya and is home to 100,000 refugees. To cope with the growing number of displaced Somalis arriving at Dadaab, the UN has begun moving people into a new area called the LFO extension, seen here on the left. Dadaab is the largest refugee camp in the world with an estimated total population of 400,000.

"Spatial analysis has always been a hallmark of GIS, the 'numerical recipes' which set GIS apart from other forms of computerized visualization and information management. With GIS we pose questions and derive results using a wide array of analytical tools to help us understand and compare places, determine how places are related, find the best locations and paths, detect and quantify patterns, and even to make spatial predictions."

Seth Dixon's insight:

GIS is a key tool in spatial analysis, but it can also be a driving force in using math, science, technology and (yes) geography as interdisciplinary ways of teaching the curriculum. StoryMaps can be rich with images and videos, but also filled with data at a variety of scales. ESRI has share a "Maps we love" page with excellent examples of Story Maps and carefully explains WHY these maps work and HOW they were made. Are you new to using the Analysis tool in ArcGIS Online? Try this exercise on analyzing flood risk to guide you through some of the steps to learn what is possible for a project of your own. What stories can you tell in this rich, visual format? What visual template shown might lend itself best for that sort of project?

"Google rolled out its new Maps design...from a navigational tool to a commercial interface and offers the clearest proof yet that the geographic web—despite its aspirations to universality—is a deeply subjective entity."

Seth Dixon's insight:

Google Maps was updated over the summer, and the updates don't make them more impartial, but that isn't a bad thing. Google Maps now highlight 'Areas of interest,' which are created with algorithms designed to reveal the “highest concentration of restaurants, bars, and shops.” The algorithms aren't 'objective,' but are fine-tuned by human engineers to reflect what they consider 'Areas of Interests' should look like. Maps are never as objective as they appear to be, and that can often be a great thing.

All maps are biased because they are not the territory, but represent our subjective view of the territory; what we include and what we leave out depends on what we deem important, or not. Europe is still oversized in most current maps in relation to the "Third World." What is the new politically correct fad?

"If you're heading out on the road for your vacation this year, you'll probably get directions from a GPS or navigational system. Does that mean that the traditional map is a relic of the past? Mark Albert hits the road to find out."

Seth Dixon's insight:

This video is designed for a general news audience and it nicely shows the public how cartography is not rendered unimportant in the era of digital maps, but has become all the more useful. I could see this video as useful resource to share with parents who are worried that studying geography won't lead to careers.

"The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has compiled some of the more stunning examples into a traveling art exhibition called Earth as Art 4, the fourth in a series of shows since 2002. The collection, which can be viewed in full online, debuted at USGS headquarters in Reston, Virginia."

"The Urban Observatory city comparison app enables you to explore the living fabric of great cities by browsing a variety of cities and themes."

Seth Dixon's insight:

At the 2013 ESRI User Conference, the Urban Observatory was unveiled (I shared this earlier, but the URL has since changed, I'm sharing it again). The physical display contained images from cities around the world to compare and contrast diverse urban environments. The online version of this was announced during in a 10 minute talk by Jack Dangermond and Hugh Keegan. This interactive mapping platform let's users access 'big data' and have it rendered in thematic maps. These maps cover population patterns, transportation networks, and weather systems. This is a must see. Read Forbes' article on the release of Urban Observatory here.

"Join Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan and wander through the lost city of Petra in Street View http://goo.gl/ixZRa9 "

Seth Dixon's insight:

I was first introduced to Petra as by the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where it was 'cast' as the Canyon of the Cresent Moon. Unfortunately the tourist economy of this site is hampered by regional conflicts in Syria and Iraq, warding away many would-be tourists in recent years. If a digital exploration is all that is your pocketbook can handle, take this virtual tour of one of the wonders of the world.

"GeoInquiries are designed to be fast and easy-to-use instructional resources that incorporate advanced web mapping technology. Each 15-minute activity in a collection is intended to be presented by the instructor from a single computer/projector classroom arrangement. No installation, fees, or logins are necessary to use these materials and software."

Seth Dixon's insight:

ESRI has produced GeoInquires for Earth Science, History and now AP Human Geography. If you try out an APHG GeoInquiry, please take a moment or two to give the folks at ESRI some feedback (a free book from ESRI for the first reviewers). They are especially looking for reviewers for the GeoInquiries for

ESRI has produced GeoInquires for Earth Science, History and now AP Human Geography. If you try out an APHG GeoInquiry, please take a moment or two to give the folks at ESRI some feedback (a free book from ESRI for the first reviewers). They are especially looking for reviewers for the GeoInquiries for

"This animation portrays how the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) satellite will orbit the Earth 13 times per day at an altitude of 705 km collecting landcover data. With a cross-track width of 185 km, the satellite will completely cover the globe in a 16 day period compiling a total of 233 orbits."

Seth Dixon's insight:

Most remote sensing videos show still images that are animated to give the temporal sequence a video-like quality. This video shows the 'big picture' of remote sensing, how the Landsat satellites can capture global coverage.

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